Assignment #10: Wild Card

         On April 11th of 2021, Daunte Wright a 20-year-old native of Minnesota had his life taken at the hands of a police officer from the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright and his girlfriend were originally pulled over on a traffic stop for expired vehicle registration when the officers saw air fresheners hanging in his rearview window, which is illegal in the state of Minnesota and began to investigate. After running Wright’s name the officers discovered a gross misdemeanor warrant for the arrest of Daunte Wright. The officers are claiming that when they went in to arrest Wright he began resisting and attempted to get back in his vehicle when he was shot once in the chest. The officer, Kim Porter, who fired the deadly shot is claiming that it was not her intention to shoot Daunte, she thought she was using her taser and not her gun. Porter has since resigned from her job along with the city’s police chief Tim Gannon. Kim Porter is now being charged with second-degree manslaughter and has gotten out on her $100,000 bound.

        Approximately two weeks ago the police bodycam footage of a high-ranking black Lieutenant in the United States was pepper-sprayed in the eyes while his hands were descended out of his driver window and in plain view of the officers. The incident actually took place back on December 5th of 2020, but it seems that the video footage made lots more people on social media aware of the situation. The officer involved in the altercation has since been terminated and is currently being sued by Lieutenant Nazario for excessive force and violating his constitutional rights.

        On the 14th of this month, a non-commissioned first-class US Army sergeant by the name of Johnathan Pentland was arrested after he was recorded assaulting and harassing a young black male out on a walk. Pentland was heard in the video saying things like, “You’re in the wrong neighborhood”, and “I ain’t playing with you. … I’m about to show you what I can do.” The victim can be seen in the video remaining much calmer than Pentland and insisting he is walking in his own neighborhood and did not want any problems. After the video began to spread like wildfire on social media the army spoke out reassuring everyone that they are looking into the incident and well as cooperating with local authorities and do not approve of Pentland’s behavior.

        I chose this topic because it seems like every time that I look on social media I am seeing people that look like myself being discriminated against for one thing or another. Whether by law enforcement, overly-entitled racists, or even within their workplaces for their hair, attire, etc. To get on social media and scroll past video footage of a child, Ma’khia Bryant, being shot multiple times is traumatizing. Seeing a cop say, “oh well,” after their partner has just “accidentally” shot a young black man instead of tasing him is scary. Not just for me as a young black woman,  but to think that family and friends of these victims have to live through this or their children. These things are on the internet and never disappear and can serve as a constant traumatizing reminder for them. I understand that these videos can be crucial to getting justice for these victims, but I look forward to a time when we do not have to show slain black bodies in the media to even attempt to get justice.